The Creative Climate

Music maker/activist/REVERB.ORG co-founder, Adam Gardner reaches back to the nascent years of his now ubiquitous nonprofit "dedicated to empowering millions of individuals to take action toward a better future for people and the planet." Adam chats with Perry about how life on the road with his beloved band Guster inspired him and his wife Lauren Sullivan, to become major players in the climate space. When REVERB first started up in the early aughts, "green was just a color," but now the organization can boast great strides in the endeavor of concert and event greening, the spearheading of multiple programs to reduce concert and tour footprints and engaging fans at shows to take action. Adam also gives props to Billie Eilish, Bonnie Raitt and Dave Matthews, and other music/climate trailblazers, and updates us on Guster happenings.Adam's choice for Hottest On Record is 2012's "Lost In The Light" by Bahamas, an artist whose firepit-friendliness got him through the heavy pandemic months. Gardner urges all of us to visit musicclimaterevolution.org, a REVERB launched campaign, partnered with Climate Control Projects, that is working to unite the music community in the fight against the climate crisis. 

For episode 17 of the Creative Climate Podcast, Perry and Kirsten get into it with the supremely talented London-based, British-Ugandan Musician/Songwriter/Activist, LOVE SSEGA.  Ssega was introduced to us through Alison Tickell from Julie's Bicycle. Raving about him on our 15th episode, we were sufficiently inspired to reach out and ask him to come on the podcast. Ssega is a founding member, lead singer/songwriter for Clean Bandit, an electro-classical band that collaborated with the BBC Philharmonic and BBC Concert Orchestras. He performed in front of 45,000 at Glastonbury on the Other Stage, live on BBC's Jools Holland and to festival crowds from Tokyo to Rome.Over the past few years, he has developed his solo repertoire which  invokes a distinctive, impassioned, and angular R&B electro-rap hybrid that is proving to be a serious voice in climate activism, particularly bounding off his life as a South Londoner. Ssega was moved by the story of Ella Adoo-Kissi-Debra, a 9 year old girl who lost her life, afflicted by asthma that worsened as a result of the profound air pollution around London's highly polluted through road, the South Circular. His music and his activism around this local problem, which of course illuminates a larger problem, led to his being selected for Seasons For Change's Common Ground, led by Julie's Bicycle and Artsadmin, on a national, year-long Climate Justice and Arts Activism commission in the build up to the UN's COP26 environmental conference. His project “Airs of the South Circular” centres around uplifting Black voices in the climate crisis, specifically in response to air pollution and the communities around the South Circular.“Airs of the South Circular” – multi-arts project – includes an album of new music, a specially-commissioned “Project Earth” comic by Andrew Kiwanuka, an information pamphlet of interviews and viewpoints and a visual trailer introducing the area. Love Ssega's words and music can be found here: https://www.lovessega.com/

In this episode of The Creative Climate, Perry's CCP colleague Kurt Langer joins as a guest host and interviews two participants from Climate Live Japan. Singer & track maker extraordinaire ermhoi, and Hanae Takahashi, one of the young organizers of the event, join the podcast to discuss climate change, music and how it all connects. Climate Live is a youth organized international concert series that took place online Saturday April 24th, 2021.  Concerts were organized in 30 locations around the globe to raise awareness about climate change.  The Japan team produced one of the largest of the events, broadcasting it live on YouTube from LOFT in Shinjuku. Climate Live International is planning more concerts around the world for October 16th, 2021.  Climate Control Projects has been honored to be serving in an advisory role to the international team since 2020.ermhoi is an Irish Japanese track maker and singer.  She creates her own world and expresses it through a variety of languages and musical genres including pop, ethno, dance and improvisation.  Her first album Junior Refugee was released in 2015  through the Salvaged Tapes record label.  ermhoi, although essentially a solo performer, is also a member of Black Boboi and Millennium Parade. Her latest release Ep, “Thunder” is available on all streaming services.ermhoi fans will love hearing her give (possibly) her first interview in English, though it honestly sounds like she's done it a thousand times before.  She discusses her creative process, her connection to climate change, and also allows us to share the title track from her most recent EP “E” as our “Hottest on Record.”http://ermhoi.comInstagram: @ermhoiTwitter:  @DooonermhoiSpotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/3kabIShRaQYKg8afAZ1kIcBandcamp: https://ermhoi.bandcamp.comYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFIfL3l7sKCRQKk4_HINvvAHanae, who in addition to being the country representative of ClimateLive Japan, is also a member of Fridays For Future Tokyo and studies art and media communications at university. The best places to follow her work with ClimateLive are here:Web：https://www.climatelivejapan.com/Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/climatelive...Twitter：https://mobile.twitter.com/climate_ja...Facebook：https://bit.ly/3ahyIQP 

In this, our 15th episode of the Creative Climate Podcast, Perry Serpa has some good 'ol chat with his new friend, Alison Tickell, CEO and co-founder of the beloved and impactful UK climate organization, Julie's Bicycle. Yes, they get into the rudimentary query of "who's this Julie?" and "is there really a bicycle?" (you'll have to listen), but there's some deeper convo that attempts to answer the questions, "how did we get here?" and "where are we going now that it's all changed?" The vibrant discussion happens through the lens of 2 music industry folks who remain keen on enlisting their friends in biz, many of whom are artists, to fix the planet. Alison shares her choice for Hottest On Record, Love Ssega's empowering track, "Keep Going (Just Change The World)," a likely paraphrase from Greta Thunberg. All a must-hear! 

Episode 14/LaunchLeft, Right? A Conversation with Rain PhoenixEpisode 14 finds host Perry Serpa and guest co-host, Jillian Santella in a serious mind meld with musician, actor, activist and fellow podcaster, Rain Phoenix. Yes, Rain drops weekly dispatches of her celebrated LaunchLeft podcast, an ever inspiring, high minded conversation with creatives, rabble rousers, legends and go-getters about the importance of engagement. Folks like Jane Fonda, Mick Rock, Ben Harper, Ani DiFranco, Michael Stipe and George Clinton, among many others, have visited the room. After we chat about her nonprofit work, sing the praises of fellow creators and explore the significance of simple, positive communication in our everyday lives, Rain turns us onto her new label (also called LaunchLeft) and offers up an amazing song called “So Sure” by Simone Istwa, for our Hottest On Record segment. Istwa grew up in a musical family with parents Sam Phillips and T Bone Burnett. “So Sure” is the first single from their forthcoming EP, Heartweb, available on June 4 via LaunchLeft. The song's video was directed by Nina Ljeti, who made Phoebe Bridgers' “Kyoto” video. A must-hear for sure! 

EP 13 of the Creative Climate Podcast sees our host, Perry Serpa mind melding with UK-based Music Declares Emergency campaign director, Maddy Read Clarke. No doubt, another music industry veteran at the ready for climate forwardness. Maddy goes beyond MDE's uber successful "NO MUSIC ON A DEAD PLANET" campaign to discuss plans for the near future, including TURN UP THE VOLUME and other collaborative activities and announcements around Earth Day with organizations such as EarthPercent, a new music industry-focused climate org headed up by none other than the iconic music maker/producer/visionary Brian Eno, among others. We also give Maddy the opportunity to tell her own music biz story, talk to us about the early days of Music Declares and their part in the XR-driven Marble Arch climate rally, and to even stake her claim to this episode's Hottest On Record, a new UK indie outfit called Roscoe Roscoe and their rocker, "Brain Retrieve." Incidentally, the band's  singer/guitarist Charlie Read Clarke, is Maddy's son. 

This particular episode (12) provides a singular focus- a music-maker/visionary/influencer/curator who calls himself Kisos. Perry and Kirsten chat with the man, the young legend about his much loved music video showcase, QUEERANTINE, that has provided an outlet for over 300 LGBTQ artists to-date, livestreaming every Sunday on Twitch. We also talk to the songwriter about, well, songwriting and time management, and other things that get in our way and wrap the proceeding with our Hottest On Record, a beautiful song called "He Didn't Want Me," by... yep, you guessed it, Kisos! The song is the latest single from his EP sweet nothings. Check out the official video in the link above. 

This one goes to 11. Perry and Kirsten corner singer/songwriter/guitarist/radio host/environmentalist/mensch/dad, Joe Sumner for an engaging back n' forth about Joe's post-Fiction Plane canon- a brand new album, forthcoming, called "Sunshine In The Night" and his newly released single "Hope," a get out the vote version of which ended up on MSNBC's Morning Joe butt 2 butt with Election Day, featuring a massive singalong that included the show's hosts, Joe and Mika, Sumner's pop, (Sting), Patti Scialfa, Ben Folds, Gaby Moreno, The Fantastic Negrito, Richard Marx, Southside Johnny, Juliana Hatfield and many more. Thanks again, Headcount.org. The rest is a love fest, the fact that Perry accuses Kirsten of being a marine biologist and flubs her name (Kristen), and Joe demanding that Perry STFU while Perry calls him a sailor, notwithstanding. Alas, chaos is staved off by a stimulating discussion extolling the virtues of nuclear energy as a solution to the climate crisis. Joe is then exposed as a newly anointed presenter/curator for Amazing Radio U.S. whereupon he is put to the test by choosing our Hottest On Record, a riveting find called "Men Of Steel" from Demetrius Ford, rendering himself victorious. 

Finally hitting the double digits, Episode 10 finds the dynamic duo of Perry Serpa and Kirsten Spruch, after a spell of yapping about Seinfeld, Sondheim and Succession, getting into it with documentary filmmaker, Claudia Rinke. Rinke recently completed work on a powerful film entitled NOW, for which she was screenwriter and creator, that explores the more human side of the Climate Movement with focus not only on its impact, but also the real people behind it all, their personal challenges and struggles with anxiety as they work to make the planet a more livable, breathable place for all of us. In addition to the palpable figures in youth movement, the film features interviews with filmmaker, Wim Wenders, musician/activist, Patti Smith and Nobel laureate Mohammad Yunus, and others. Read Claudia's recent piece in Innovators, “What's It Like Being A Young Activist,” here.  Our Hottest On Record is a brand new artist named Emma Negrete. Recently featured in American Songwriter, Emma shares her spankin' new track, "Lost In Translation" with the Creative Climate. As mentioned in said publication, "“Lost in Translation,” a song Negrete says set her free, also marks a new beginning for the artist, who has released a handful of singles since 2018. Through her experience and writing the song, she also learned how changing one's mindset can transform everything." One listen will prove the presence of a special artist who we'll be hearing much more from. 

For Episode 9 of The Creative Climate Podcast, join host Perry Serpa for some brief, New Year bloodletting on the State of the Union followed by an interview with celebrated visual artist, Nicholas Papadakis- a real treat for listeners who are fellow artists and photographers as Nick gets granular about his processes, recounting his attempts to paint bubbles, utilize a musician's brain scan as a springboard for a series and immortalize a road trip involving a friend with a penchant for wrapping herself around trees while naked. If that doesn't make you curious, I dunno what will. Seriously though, Papadakis makes for a fascinating featured guest and a longstanding champion of creative response.  Then, hear Rebecca Hart's gorgeous, "Horses," our Hottest On Record for this episode. The song was one of 9 tracks on her 2018 album, The Magician's Daughter. Rebecca is a Creative Climate alumnus having been featured on our very first episode commenting on her pandemic experience. She is a prolific singer/songwriter/playwright/actress/tarot card reader. 

For Episode 8, host Perry Serpa chats with visual artist, TB Ward. Proud Yorkshire lad and singer/songwriter/guitarist  of now-defunct UK indie band, Elevate, Ward has spent much of the past 2 decades engaging his passion to fill blank canvases with uniquely compelling images that tell stories. Says TB, "I feel the line tells the story.  I start with a notion of the natural landscape and then allow for any deviation; thoughts of man made structures, the visual impact this creates. I look for line, whether it is made in pencil, a scratch on a surface or a piece of manipulated wire." Ward spent 2014-2018 with his family in his old stomping grounds of Shrewsbury UK, just a spit from Wales and the stint inspired recent work, much of which had their start in more simple pleinair paintings and evolved into a more abstract version of these landscape works. Says the artist, "These newer pieces, I think, ask more questions; the serial number money codes stamped on top of the impression of a landscape represent the monetization of our natural world. It is a commentary on our placement of arbitrary value on the land around us, how our perception and treatment of the land as something to be bought and sold must surely change, and the way in which nationalism is being used to keep our eyes off the ball. And hopefully they are interesting to look at too." To put eyes on it all, visit tbward.com or check it out on climatecontrolprojects.comFor our Hottest On Record, we give you Haunted Continents, a solo project of notable NYC singer/songwriter James A.M. Downes, a member of Phila/NYC trioTEOA (The End Of America). For their track contribution, a stunner called "Safe On The Run," Downes teamed up with New Haven, CT based, Dumlords over a few responsible Zoom writing sessions to create a desert canyon indie rocker antihero ballad that plays like a dusty noir novel.  Says Downes, "When you hear it, you'll agree, it would sound its best speeding through Death Valley in a Cadillac going 90 mph." Visit https://hauntedcontinents.com/

THE CREATIVE CLIMATE PODCAST -EPISODE 7 - ARE YOU GEN-GREEN??“Be willing to be led by people who are not you.”  --Elsa MengistuFor this episode, Perry talks to Elsa Mengistu, the co-founder of Generation Green (Gen-Green)-- A youth led intergenerational community of Black environmentalists that addresses the intersectionality of Black social justice issues through an environmental justice lens.Elsa discusses her own challenges and recent history, which involved a move from the impactful youth climate organization Zero Hour, where she worked as the organization's Director of Operations and Logistics. Zero Hour, as you may remember, was one of the organizations that launched the impactful Youth Climate March in July of 2018. Elsa attends classes at Howard University, She has been honored by Grist Magazine one their Top 50 Fixers for 2019. For this Hottest On Record, we have Jim Santo- a man with a guitar and a plan who has been rambling through the NYC music scene for the past 4 decades, playing in bands that one would call power pop, post-punk, art rock, no wave and chamber pop. Santo, primarily guitarist extraordinaire, is also a composer. His latest design is an amazing textural and avant garde instrumental opus called The Siberian Traps/An Extinction Fable, just on his long standing Dive Records. The album, his first homespun production, finds influence in a number of post-rock & electronic artists -- Fennesz, Tim Hecker, GAS, Abul Mogard, Facs, Kelly Lee Owens, Cate LeBon, etc. As well as timbres and tones of the outside world. Says Jim, “At that time, I wasn't thinking about an album, let alone an instrumental concept album about human extinction! i had made some offhand remarks about making an album about the end of the world, and had registered a domain name for an imaginary band called The Siberian Traps**, but that was the extent of it.”But as it did for many, the pandemic came along and changed everything. His neighborhood in Queens was the epicenter of the first terrifying explosion of COVID-19 in America. Most of the album was recorded in the early days of the lockdown, which is directly expressed in particular songs on the album, including his offered track, “Humanity.” 

For Episode 6, after sharing our feelings about Election Day and its aftermath, (don't expect Pod Save America) we have a great convo with singer/songwriter Rozzi. Originally from San Francisco, Rozzi has a big powerful distinctive voice that has moved folks like Maroon 5's Adam Levine to sing her praises and take her out on tour opening for the band. She's also recorded with the likes of Kendrick Lamar and Pusha T.  among others, and has garnered a ton of positive coverage from the difficult music press. We talk with Rozzi about her new (and gorgeous) single, “Orange Skies” written about the wildfire crisis in her native California- also this episode's Hottest On Record- and we discuss the fact that Rozzi has a podcast of her own that she co-hosts with Scott Hoying of Pentatonix called Ugh! You're So Good!  We turn the praise on her to see how she likes it. 

For Episode 5 - Why Is A Picture's Worth A Thousand Words? - Visual Art & Activism, our host, Perry Serpa  discusses anxiety on the eve of the 2020 General Election before a stimulating conversation with internationally acclaimed artist/activist twosome Heather Ackroyd and Dan Harvey. Heather and Dan fill Perry in about their current thing, a reactive UK based initiative called Culture Declares Emergency formed in 2019 as a response to the global climate and ecological emergency. The initiative has, since its inception, found support with a wide range of artists and organizations, including Akram Khan, Cornelia Parker, Antony Gormley, Brian Eno, Tate Galleries, Bristol Old Vic, Royal Court Theatre, Somerset House amongst 1000+ and an offshoot initiative, Music Declares Emergency, found 'declarers' in Billie Eilish, Radiohead, The 1975 and many others. Then, for Hottest On Record, singer/songwriter/guitarist, Joe Sumner contributes a brand new track, "Hope," recently used for a successful get out the vote Headcount campaign in the form of a singalong chorus video featuring Ben Folds, Patti Scialfa, The Fantastic Negrito, Juliana Hatfield, Gaby Moreno, Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski (MSNBC's Morning Joe) and Sumner's famous dad (Sting). The "Hope The Vote" chorus video enjoyed concurrent debuts on the aforementioned Morning Joe and Rolling Stone. You get to hear the full track on the Creative Climate Podcast, which will kick off Sumner's forthcoming album, "Sunshine In The Night," due out next year. In case you're wondering, Serpa's co-host, Kirsten Spruch is out on assignment for this one, whoopin' it up in Austin, Texas and trying to flip the state before Biden gets to it. She rejoins for Episode 6. 

Perry (Serpa) and Kirsten (Spruch) interview the one and only, Aloe Blacc, artist and activist, well, "Artivist," a word he coined to harness the confluence of the two. "This is an exercise in selflessness- being an activist and an artist. I call it an "artivist." It's finding ways to use my art to promote humanity, compassion, community and togetherness," says Aloe during our engaging chat about his nearly two decade long career as a singer/songwriter, his kids and smartphones, and working to transcend the palpable landscape of chaos and confusion on our world stage. Creative response, indeed! Aloe talks with us on the wings of his first full album release in 7 years, a gem called "All Love Everything," courtesy of the BMG label. Perry and Kirsten then chew da fat about songsmithin',  droppin all kinds of science and then Kirsten (The Kirstenizer) is ordained as this episode's Hottest On Record, offering her brilliant new track, "Hunt Road," for our audience to put their arms around. A good one! 

Perry Serpa and Kirsten Spruch co-host Episode 3 of the Creative Climate, Tighten The Beltway, an hour long exploration of the climate discussion within U.S. political forum. Perry interviews Nathaniel Rich, author of Losing Earth, best selling chronicle of the beltway conversation from the seventies to present day, and John Rivera, energy expert/negotiator and veteran of the Federal Energy Administration and the Department of Energy in the 70s and 80s. Both guests shed ample light on the tug o'war around climate and give us some fresh insights as to where the conversation needs to go. Hottest On Record musical guest is critically acclaimed Austin-based singer/songwriter, Rod Melancon who offers us an acoustic version of "Corpus Christi Carwash," his tribute to the late, great Freddie Fender. 

Episode 2 of The Creative Climate Podcast puts due focus on the Black Lives Matter movement featuring Serpa's interview with civil rights activist, author and podcaster, DeRay McKesson. DeRay traverses the movement, of which he's been a prominent figure and discusses his journey from Ferguson to Minneapolis, his work with Campaign Zero and his Pod Save The People podcast. Par Neiburger's Audio Atlas pays tribute to Brooklyn with some deep cuts from the crate and some good chat with Amy Motzny, Watershed Manager of the Gowanus Canal Conservancy. And, our Hottest On Record segment features a brand new track from Trans artist/activist, Blxck Cxsper, whose BKLYN-based label, Trans Trenderz, fosters black Trans artists, exclusively. Worth an ear or two! 

Creative Climate host Perry Serpa engages in an epic mind meld with author Antonino D'Ambrosio, responsible for the veritable bible of creative response, Let Fury Have The Hour (and its documentary compendium). D'Ambrosio name drops the printing press, futbol en Mexico and his buddy, artist Shepard Fairey. Musicians Ben Lee, Rebecca Hart, Eli Musser and David Mosey answer the quarantine edition of our One Questionnaire. Producer River Hooks gives us “Mountain,” a brand new track for our Hottest On Record segment. Par Neiburger joins for his Audio Atlas taking cues from his CCP Playlist, “West African Griots And Legends” before he reunites with Dakar-based pal, Hannah Armstrong, Senior Consulting Analyst at the International Crisis Group to talk climate in the Sahel region of Africa.